Title
When the devil grew old, he became a hermit
1835
Artist
-
Details
- Alternative title
- Quand le Diable devint vieux, il se fit Hermite
- Date
- 1835
- Media category
- Materials used
- lithograph
- Edition
- only state
- Dimensions
- 19.9 x 26.3 cm image; 27.8 x 36.7 cm sheet
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1990
- Location
- South Building, ground level, Grand Courts
- Accession number
- 358.1990
- Copyright
- Artist information
-
Honoré Daumier
Works in the collection
- Share
-
About
Plate 476 published in 'La Caricature', no 229, 26 March 1835.
Here the statesman Talleyrand (1754–1838) and King Louis-Philippe appear in the guise of monks, kneeling before a cross upon which Freedom is crucified. The three numbers signify the key dates of the July Revolution of 1830 that brought the king to power. Louis-Philippe holds a rosary of coins while Talleyrand, who sports horns and a Phrygian cap, wears symbols of the Bourbon crown, the Pope’s mitre, the Napoleonic eagle, the fleur-de-lis of Charles X, and a pear representing Louis-Philippe. The cat symbolises deceit and treachery.